1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication network system in which communication can be performed among a plurality of mobile terminals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical communication using infrared rays is being performed as a data communication interface for use in personal computers and mobile terminals including personal digital assistants (PDA). The infrared data association (IrDA) protocol is a standard protocol for infrared optical communications.
However, in infrared optical communication using this IrDA standard protocol, only a one-to-one-type communication function is supported. Thus, when a single one-to-one-type communication terminal communicates with a plurality of terminals connected via a local area network (LAN), it is necessary to connect at least one relay terminal having both the IrDA function and the LAN function to a LAN system circuit. Then, communication is performed via this relay terminal.
As in the IrDA communication interface, a data communication interface using a modem connected to a telephone line also supports only a one-to-one-type communication function. Terminals using IrDA or a modem and merely having a one-to-one-type communication function are hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cone-to-one-type communication terminalsxe2x80x9d.
Such a one-to-one-type communication terminal can communicate with a plurality of terminals by the provision of a relay terminal which relays information of the one-to-one-type communication terminal to the other terminals. However, the following problems are encountered if IrDA is used as a communication interface.
If the relay terminal or the one-to-one-type communication terminal using IrDA is moved, the communication link may be disconnected. When the relay terminal discontinues relay services, the one-to-one-type communication terminal is no longer able to communicate with the other terminals.
However, even if the relay terminal is moved or the relay services are discontinued, the provision of an extra relay terminal which takes over the relay services in a network (LAN) makes it possible to continue relaying information of the one-to-one-type communication terminal, which can thus communicate with the other terminals.
However, the one-to-one-type communication terminal is not disposed in the network. It is thus impossible for the one-to-one-type communication terminal to monitor the situations of the terminals connected to the network nor can it check for the presence of another relay terminal in the network even if it attempts to send a relay request to the relay terminal.
Similarly, in performing communication using a modem, problems similar to those presented by IrDA communication may be encountered if relay services are discontinued or a telephone line is disconnected, thereby discontinuing communications between a one-to-one-type communication terminal using a modem and other terminals. There may be provided a mechanism for indicating another relay terminal which takes over relay services before the corresponding relay terminal discontinues the relay services. Even in this case, if a communication link is accidentally disconnected for a one-to-one-type communication terminal using IrDA, or if a telephone line is disconnected for a one-to-one-type communication terminal using a modem, communication can no longer be performed.
Even if the relay services are successfully passed from one relay terminal to another relay terminal, the one-to-one-type communication terminal first sends a connection request to the indicated relay terminal, and then, after a communication link is established, the one-to-one-type communication terminal is able to receive the relay services. In other words, the one-to-one-type communication terminal is unable to receive information sent to this terminal until the communication link with the designated relay terminal is established.
Additionally, a one-to-one-type communication terminal using a modem cannot even be connected to a relay terminal while the relay terminal has already started to provide relay services. If only one telephone number of the relay terminal is known to the one-to-one-type communication terminal, the terminal cannot even be connected to the relay terminal, thus failing to receive the relay services.
The aforementioned IrDA communication interface and the modems are major communication interfaces for use in mobile personal computers and mobile terminals. Thus, the above-described problems are becoming serious as mobile computing is becoming widespread and is more commonly utilized.
Therefore, in communicating with a plurality of terminals via a relay terminal, even if a one-to-one-type communication terminal becomes unable to communicate with the relay terminal, the communication must be continued by passing relay services from the relay terminal to another relay terminal disposed in a network.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a communication network system which enables a one-to-one-type communication terminal connected to a communication network, such as a LAN, via a relay terminal to continue communicating with a plurality of terminals disposed in the network by informing the one-to-one-type communication terminal of the presence of another relay terminal even if a communication link with the relay terminal is accidentally disconnected or relay services provided by the relay terminal are discontinued, and which allows the one-to-one-type communication terminal to continue receiving information from the other terminals without discarding it even before a communication link with the newly indicated relay terminal is established.
In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication network system including a plurality of communication terminals, each having a first transmitting unit and a first receiving unit, connected via a transmission channel. Information is transmitted and received among the communication terminals through the first transmitting unit and the first receiving unit. At least two of the communication terminals are used as relay communication terminals. Each of the relay communication terminals includes a second transmitting unit for performing only one-to-one-type communication and a second receiving unit for performing only one-to-one-type communication. A received-information relay unit transmits information received from the first receiving unit to the second transmitting unit and transmits information received from the second receiving unit to the first transmitting unit. A relay-terminal-information transmitting unit transmits to the first transmitting unit terminal identification information of the relay terminal and terminal identification information of a terminal to which the relay terminal is providing relay services as relay terminal information. A relay terminal storage unit stores information of the relay terminal and another relay terminal and relay situations of the relay terminals from the relay terminal information received from the first receiving unit. Upon discontinuing the relay services by the relay terminal which is providing the relay services, the presence or the absence of an available relay terminal is determined by referring to the relay terminal storage unit, and if there is an available relay terminal, an instruction is provided to the terminal which is receiving the relay services to change the relay terminal.
With this configuration, even if a relay terminal discontinues relay services, an available relay terminal in a network can take over the relay services, thereby enabling a one-to-one-type communication terminal to continue communicating with the other terminals.
According to the aforementioned communication network system, the relay-terminal-information transmitting unit may have a function of regularly transmitting the relay terminal information.
With this arrangement, a one-to-one-type communication terminal is able to monitor the current relay situation of the relay terminals disposed in the network. Accordingly, even if a communication link is accidentally disconnected, the one-to-one-type communication terminal searches for another relay terminal without the need for the designation of another relay terminal from the current relay terminal, thereby making it possible to continue receiving the relay services.
According to the aforementioned communication network system, upon discontinuing the relay services by the relay terminal, the terminal which is receiving the relay services may change from the relay terminal to a subsequent relay terminal, and the subsequent terminal may then store received information until a connection is established with the terminal which is receiving the relay services.
With this arrangement, until a communication link is established between the one-to-one-type communication terminal and the subsequent relay terminal which is to take over the relay services, the information addressed to the one-to-one-type communication terminal is received and stored by the subsequent relay terminal. Thus, the one-to-one-type communication terminal is able to receive information without losing it.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication network system including a plurality of communication terminals, each having a first transmitting unit and a first receiving unit, connected via a transmission channel. Information is transmitted and received among the communication terminals through the first transmitting unit and the first receiving unit. At least one of the communication terminals is used as a central relay communication terminal, and at least one of the communication terminals is used as a relay communication terminal. The relay communication terminal including a second transmitting unit for performing only one-to-one-type communication and a second receiving unit for performing only one-to-one-type communication. A received-information relay unit transmits information received from the first receiving unit to the second transmitting unit and transmits information received from the second receiving unit to the first transmitting unit. A relay-terminal-information transmitting unit transmits to the first transmitting unit terminal identification information of the relay terminal and terminal identification information of a terminal to which the relay terminal is providing relay services as relay terminal information. The central relay communication terminal includes a relay-terminal storage unit for storing information of the relay terminal and another relay terminal and relay situations of the relay terminals from the relay terminal information received from the first receiving unit. Thus, an available relay terminal can be designated to a terminal which makes a request to provide the relay services.
With this configuration, only the central communication terminal receives a request for relay services from the one-to-one-type communication terminal. Accordingly, when a one-to-one-type communication function is implemented by using a modem, only one telephone number is required for enabling the one-to-one-type communication terminal to receive the relay services.
According to the aforementioned communication network system, at least two of the first transmitting units and at least two of the first receiving units may be provided.
According to the above-described communication network system, at least two of the second transmitting units and at least two of the second receiving units may be provided.
According to the above-described communication network system, at least two of the first transmitting units and at least two of the first receiving units may be provided, and at least two of the second transmitting units and at least two of the second receiving units may be provided.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication network system including a plurality of communication terminals, each having a first transmitting unit and a first receiving unit, connected via a transmission channel. Information is transmitted and received among the communication terminals through the first transmitting unit and the first receiving unit. At least two of the communication terminals are used as relay communication terminals. Each of the relay communication terminals includes a second transmitting unit for performing only one-to-one-type communication and a second receiving unit for performing only one-to-one-type communication. A third transmitting unit performs only one-to-N-type communication. A third receiving unit performs only one-to-N-type communication. A received-information relay unit transmits information received from the first receiving unit to the second transmitting unit and to the third transmitting unit, and transmits information received from the second receiving unit to the first transmitting unit and to the third transmitting unit, and transmits information received from the third receiving unit to the first transmitting unit and to the second transmitting unit. A relay-terminal-information transmitting unit transmits to the first transmitting unit terminal identification information of the relay terminal and terminal identification information of a terminal to which the relay terminal is providing relay services as relay terminal information. A relay terminal storage unit stores information of the relay terminal and another relay terminal and relay situations of the relay terminals from the relay terminal information received from the first receiving unit. Upon discontinuing the relay services by the relay terminal which is providing the relay services, the presence or the absence of an available relay terminal is determined by referring to the relay terminal storage unit, and if there is an available relay terminal, an instruction is provided to the terminal which is receiving the relay services to change the relay terminal.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a relay terminal for use in a communication network system which includes a plurality of communication terminals, each having a first transmitting unit and a first receiving unit, connected via a transmission channel. Information is transmitted and received among the communication terminals through the first transmitting unit and the first receiving unit. One of the communication terminals is used as the relay terminal. The relay terminal includes a second transmitting unit for performing only one-to-one-type communication and a second receiving unit for performing only one-to-one-type communication. A received-information relay unit transmits information received from the first receiving unit to the second transmitting unit and transmits information received from the second receiving unit to the first transmitting unit. A relay-terminal-information transmitting unit transmits to the first transmitting unit terminal identification information of the relay terminal and terminal identification information of a terminal to which the relay terminal is providing relay services as relay terminal information. A relay terminal storage unit stores information of the relay terminal and another relay terminal and relay situations of the relay terminals from the relay terminal information received from the first receiving unit. Upon discontinuing the relay services by the relay terminal which is providing the relay services, the presence or the absence of an available relay terminal is determined by referring to the relay terminal storage unit, and if there is an available relay terminal, an instruction is provided to the terminal which is receiving the relay services to change the relay terminal.
According to a yet further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for relaying information between a plurality of communication terminals in a communication network system. At least two of the communication terminals are used as relay communication terminals. The method includes a first transmitting step, a second transmitting step, a storage step, a determining step, and a providing step. In the first transmitting step, information received from one communication terminal is transmitted to another communication terminal. In the second transmitting step, terminal identification information of the relay terminal and terminal identification information of a terminal to which the relay communication terminal is providing relay services are transmitted as relay terminal information. In the storage step, information of the relay terminal and another relay terminal and relay situations of the relay terminals are stored from the relay terminal information transmitted in the second transmitting step. In the determining step, the presence or the absence of an available relay terminal is determined by referring to the relay terminal information stored in the storage step when the relay terminal discontinues the relay services. In the providing step, an instruction is provided to the terminal which is receiving the relay services to change the relay terminal.